Former Irish president speaks on time in office, roles of religion and gender in politics in Ireland
By KELLY KONYA
s enior news writer
addressing the topics of gender and religion in the present and future trajectory of ireland, former president of ireland mary mca leese joined the saint mary’s community on Tuesday evening in carroll auditorium of madeleva hall.
college president carol a nn mooney introduced mca leese, who is the second women to serve as the president of ireland and the first to come from the ulster region.
mca leese was elected in 1997 and served for two terms until 2011, using her time in office to
see mcaleese paGe 5
c lub remembers holocaust
By JENNIFER FLANAGAN news writer
wednesday night at 8 p.m. the Jewish Federation of south bend will host a holocaust remembrance service at the grotto to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of the holocaust.
Trent spoolstra, a 2013 graduate of notre dame who has volunteered with the Jewish Federation for the past seven months, helped to bring the event to notre dame’s
campus.
The service coincides with yom hashoah, israel’s official day of commemoration for the approximately 6 million Jews and 5 million others who died as a result of the actions of nazi germany and its counterparts. This year, yom hashoah begins the evening of april 15 and ends the evening of april 16.
spoolstra said the Jewish Federation usually hosts events in downtown south bend every year
to honor of yom hashoah but this year wanted to bring holocaust remembrance to notre dame’s campus.
The grotto, as a place of reflection for all religions, seemed the ideal location to host the remembrance service, spoolstra said.
“The grotto, for those who are catholic, is a place to remember mary and honor mary and, for those who are not catholic, is a
By MARGARET HYNDS and EMILY McCONVILLE news e ditor and a ssociate news e ditor
l ast Thursday, c atherine “c athy” p ieronek, an associate dean in the c ollege of e ngineering and the director of the women’s engineering program, passed away suddenly at the age of 52. according to c ollege of e ngineering d ean peter
Kilpatrick, p ieronek proved to be a champion of the women engineers on notre dame’s campus, but also on a national level. students have recalled her dedication to the engineers and also to the school as a campus leader who sought to continually improve the university and, specifically, the c ollege of e ngineering.
i n an email, Kilpatrick described one of p ieronek’s large contributions to the women’s engineering program that dealt with residence halls. w hen p ieronek joined the engineering faculty in 2002, female enrollment in the college was lower than it was now, and each women’s residence hall only had “one to two” engineers living in it.
“This meant that women
who wanted to study with their classmates and other engineers would have to go to another residence hall (often a male residence hall) and when the parietals require women students leaving male dorms at midnight (despite whether the homework or studying was all finished), this placed a hardship on the women engineering students,” he said.
“s o c athy, in concert with others in the c ollege, got [the o ffice of residence l ife] to start clustering women engineers in fewer dorms so women could develop natural study partners in their own residence hall. This strategy, and many others, has led to a dramatic increase in both the retention and the numbers and percentages of women in engineering here at notre dame. we are now well over 30 percent, a remarkable increase in the last 10plus years. c athy played by far the dominant role in this transformation.”
Kilpatrick and others recalled her tendency to be extremely direct with students in her role as an advisor.
‘TBAB’ benefits pediatric cancer research students, faculty reflect on pieronek’s life
By MATTHEW McKENNA news writer
The bald and the beautiful (T bab ), a campus event hosted by the club of the same name, will place in the l aFortune student center from wednesday until Friday this week. The annual event raises money for pediatric cancer research while raising awareness for childhood cancer.
grace carroll, senior and co-chair of The bald and the beautiful, said the event takes place in the dooley and sorin rooms in the main lounge of
l aFortune.
“we have over 15,000 participants in the event, and the event includes three parts,” carroll said. “Firstly, there’s donating eight inches of your hair to pantene beautiful l engths to make wigs for patients with cancer.”
“Then, you can also purchase colored hair extensions to support someone you know who has cancer,” she said. “There’s a different color for each type of cancer. money raised from that goes to memorial hospital.”
The third part of the event involves shaving your head to
walk in solidarity with those losing their hair due to chemotherapy, she said.
“There is a minimum donation to have your head shaved and also a minimum donation for a T-shirt,” carroll said. “The money raised from that goes to st. baldrick’s Foundation. so there are three different parts that go to three different organizations.”
according to carroll, T bab began in 2009 when a group of students came together after their friend was diagnosed with
see Tbab paGe 5
MONICA VILLAGOMEZ MENDEZ | The Observer
Former president of Ireland Mary McAleese speaks in Carroll Auditorium of Madeleva Hall at Saint Mary’s College on Tuesday.
EMILY McCONVILLE | The Observer
Participants of The Bald and Beautiful shave their heads last year in solidarity with cancer patients going through chemotherapy.
The observer regards itself as a professional publication and strives for the highest standards of journalism at all times. we do, however, recognize that we will make mistakes. i f we have made a mistake, please contact us at (574) 631-4541 so we can correct our error.
Question of the Day:
Grace
“i
Madison Zeiss senior howard hall
“online
Phil Stenger sophomore siegfried hall
“i
Amanda Springstead senior howard hall
“i can say the abcs backwards.”
Erin Lattimer sophomore howard hall
“i can bend my upper pinky knuckle.”
Taylor Kolbus senior off-campus
“i can wink without moving my cheek.”
t he next f ive D ays:
Wednesday
“South Bend on a Dime”
McKenna Hall
12 p.m.-1 p.m.
Panel with Downtown South Bend.
“MFA Student Reading” Hammes Bookstore
7:30 p.m-8:30 p.m.
Sponsored by Creative Writing Program.
Thursday
“The Hard Problem” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7 p.m.-9:15 p.m.
National Theatre Live.
“Dead Man’s Cell Phone” DeBartolo Performing Arts Center
7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Theatre performance.
Friday
Labor Cafe Geddes Hall 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Sponsored by Higgins Labor Studies Program.
ND Relay for Life Compton Family Ice Arena
6 p.m.-11:55 p.m. Fundraiser for cancer research.
Saturday
Run Forrest Run 5K/10K Campus-wide
8:30 a.m.-11a.m.
Benefit for wounded veterans.
Blue-Gold Game LaBar Practice Complex
12:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Streaming online.
Sunday
Strikeout Cancer Softball Game
Melissa Cook Stadium
12 p.m.-2 p.m.
Notre Dame vs. Syracuse.
“La Misa en Español” Dillon Hall
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Spanish Mass.
SMC dance recital showcases student talent
By STEPHANIE SNYDER news writer
s aint m ary’s d epartment of c ommunication s tudies, d ance and Theatre will perform its annual d ance a rts recital this Thursday, Friday and s aturday.
The d ance a rts 2015 recital has been put on annually for more than 30 years. This year’s d ance a rts is inspired by everyday life and a merican culture. i t features various genres of dance that are combined to communicate several different views of a merican society.
s aint m ary’s dance instructor m ichele Kriner, senior lecturer l aurie l owry and guest artist Kristina i sabelle all contributed in
choreographing the seven dance pieces for the show.
a ll performers are part of the s aint m ary’s dance mi -
“ n ot only can the students be a part of it, they can contribute to it,” l owry said. “ i t’s good for young people
“You have to commit, show up and contribute, all of which prepare them for other aspects of life as well. I like to see young dancers be challenged in different ways and to see them grow.”
Laurie Lowry senior lecturer Saint Mary’s College
nor program, which gives students the opportunity to work on serious dance works in order to learn as aspiring artists. l owry said this performance is a chance for students to share their artistic talent with the community.
paid a dverT isemen T
paid a dverT isemen T
to get exposed to art in many forms.”
l owry said this is not only a performance that would benefit students, but faculty and those who do not attend the c ollege as well.
“ w hen you’re out of college
p ieronek
recalled her tendency to be extremely direct with students in her role as an advisor.
“i have so many memories of c athy, but perhaps my favorite memory was when i shared with her recently how grateful a parent was for the direct and forceful advice that c athy gave his son on the occasion of struggling academically and disciplinarily and the way the young man had been
and you’re in the community, you don’t necessarily have good access to art,” said l owry. “ s aint m ary’s is great because it allows easy access to art through shows like this.”
l owry said the show is a significant part of the dance program for the performers at s aint m ary’s and she hopes it will be a useful experience for them moving forward.
“ you have to commit, show up and contribute, all of which prepare them for other aspects of life as well,” said l owry. “ i like to see young dancers be challenged in different ways and to see them grow.”
There are many other opportunities for dancers to
able to turn things around with c athy’s support and encouragement,” he said. “c athy gave me a simple ‘aw, shucks’ response and immediately deflected the accolade.
“This was classic c athy. she did what she did for our students because she was deeply committed and cared about them as persons. i n this regard, c athy taught us how to be fully human and fully c hristian.”
s enior c ecilia ruiz said she met p ieronek when she was a first-year engineering student and member of the First year e ngineering c ouncil.
“ w hat i remember the most is her passion to education and her devotion to her students,” ruiz said in an email.
“she touched many lives with her advice and picked up many of us who struggled through some of our semesters.
“a lways understanding, but firm, she encouraged me to continue in my endeavors and challenged all whose lives she touched to be the best version of themselves. i can’t think of a better role model to follow as an aspiring female aerospace engineer, and i am grateful for her presence in my life.”
s enior maggie m iller said her relationship with p ieronek began during her freshman year. she said p ieronek took an interest in her summer job with notre dame’s i ntroduction to e ngineering p rogram and talked to her frequently throughout the summer.
“most of the conversations we would have were about how we could make the c ollege better, how we could improve the perception of engineers on campus,” m iller said in an email. “This was especially pertinent to me as i have been heavily involved with various performing arts groups during my time at notre dame, and c athy always took a surprising interest in this and in other students that were leaving their mark on campus in areas
get involved at s aint m ary’s. s tudents can take classes to enhance their skills or they can audition to be a part of other productions similar to d ance a rts. The annual showcase is another opportunity for student dancers who are not part of a class to grow and develop as artists. d ance a rts will be presented Thursday through s aturday in o ’ l aughlin a uditorium at 7:30 p.m. There will also be a matinee s aturday at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 for students, $10 for faculty and $13 for non-students and can be purchased at the box office in o ’ l aughlin a uditorium.
Contact Stephanie Snyder at ssnyder02@saintmarys.edu
other than engineering. she wanted us to feel like we were students and to get away from seeing ourselves as nerds who could only sit in their rooms and study.
“she fought relentlessly for the students in the c ollege, and even though she was often very hard on struggling students they were always better for it. Tough love was definitely her approach, but it was in fact a deep love that she showed the students.”
m iller said p ieronek was especially important for the women of the c ollege, which she witnessed firsthand as a student representative on the c ollege of e ngineering c ouncil.
“i remember in one meeting looking around and realizing that c athy and myself were the only women in the room of 20 or so other people, and c athy always played a large role in running those meetings,” m iller said. “she became someone i very much wanted to emulate in her confidence and in her caring.”
s enior r yan griffin said p ieronek cared about all her students in the c ollege of e ngineering, which led to a tough but rewarding mentoring style.
“she expected you to own up to your mistakes and act like an adult,” griffin said in an email. “but if you were capable of doing that, c athy would match you every step of the way working with you, teachers, the department, advisors, you name it, in order to help you succeed. she was also an incredible mentor to the students who got close to her.
“Those of us who were lucky enough to call her a mentor will forever treasure the advice she gave us and carry her words with us in our careers.”
Contact Margaret Hynds at mhynds@nd.edu and Emily McConville at emcconv1@nd.edu
cancer.
“They wanted to do something to support him,” c arroll said. “ it started as a small group of students that were very dedicated, but each year it grew and grew. This will be our seventh year, and we’ve raised over $200,000 for m emorial h ospital in s outh b end.”
w hile T bab started as a small student-run event, participants later formed the club in order to organize the event each year, she said.
“The students wanted the event to be something long-term that, even after they graduated, would take place at n otre d ame every spring,” c arroll said. “ s o to ensure its longevity, The b ald and The b eautiful became a club.”
The b ald and the b eautiful is meant to be an event that unites the entire n otre d ame and s outh b end community, c arroll said.
“ we have about 50 people from m emorial h ospital coming wednesday, and, at the same time, we have players on the football team come and shave their heads,” c arroll said. “ s tylists from around the area donate their time, as well as Frank, the barber from university s tylings. a lso, three area restaurants are donating food for participants.”
c arroll said cancer, as a disease that is diagnosed in children around the world once every three minutes, is a disease that needs a lot of attention.
“ e veryone is affected by cancer in some way and we wanted to be able to do something about it,” c arroll said. “a s college students, trying to find the cure for cancer is just an overwhelming question. This event is something small. i n the grand scheme of things, your hair isn’t that big a deal, but when you have cancer, losing your hair is everything, especially for a child.”
The money raised by T bab will go towards a specific local project, the club decided.
“ we’ve decided that the money we’ve raised over the past six years, and will continue to raise, will go specifically towards a room in that oncology room called The b ald and the b eautiful room,” she said. “This room will have toys and games for patients who are undergoing chemo and their siblings.”
c arroll said she wants to specifically applaud the six women who are planning to shave their heads over the course of the three days.
“The decision to be in solidarity with those who lose their hair to cancer treatment takes a lot of courage,” she said.
Contact Matthew McKenna at mmcken12@nd.edu
paid a dverT isemen T
Mc a leese
address issues concerning “social justice, social equality, social inclusion, anti-sectarianism and reconciliation,” mooney said. according to mooney, mcaleese described the theme of her presidency as “building bridges,” as she hoped to resolve the tensions of the conflict that afflicted ireland during the Troubles, which occurred between the late 1960s and 1990. after years of relieving frictions, the good Friday agreement, a peace deal, was struck in 1998 during mcaleese’s presidency, which established a power-sharing agreement in belfast and included political forces on both sides of the conflict, mooney said.
now, mcaleese is a member of the united nations’ council of women world leaders, and she is ranked the 64th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine, mooney said.
in conversation with saint mary’s professor Karen chambers, who is the director of the ireland study abroad program and an associate professor of sociology, mcaleese addressed her view of the irish presidency, her main goal during her terms and the historic visit by Queen elizabeth ii of england in 2011.
mcaleese first explained the three main roles of the irish presidency.
The three roles of the irish president, then, are to sign and pass legislation, to oversee the details of other elections and to be commander-in-chief of the army.
however, according to mcaleese, the other major duty that she assumed is to operate within the moral/pastoral space, as she defines it. it is within this space where the gateways to reconciliation between the north and south and between britain and the republic of ireland could form and strengthen.
“The problems we have are essential problems with neighbors,” she said. “The truth is that nobody is going anywhere, so it’d be well to get on with one another.
we needed to know how much resistance there was … because we weren’t doing this for photo opportunities.”
instead, mcaleese inspired attitudes of reconciliation amongst opposing forces, desiring for all to be decent to each other and to find platforms of shared and joint benefits.
“and over a period of 14 years, that worked,” she confirmed. “[it worked because] we weren’t trying to turn anyone into irish nationalists or catholics. … what we were trying to do was turn them into people who could think of us as good neighbors, as people that they could have huge political differences with, but that those differences not be dealt with by violence.
“my husband started work with the protestant paramilitaries … and we began to realize the fact that we were from their areas … actually meant a lot to them — that somewhere inside of them, they were actually quite proud of us, that we belonged to them in some way or other,” she said.
Then, the “miracle of friendships growing” occurred, and this culminated into a new infrastructure for government in northern ireland to build upon with good, positive compromises and an eventual referendum, she said.
“it was a compromise that went hard on everybody … but everybody signed up to it. it’s still in operation … it’s not pretty, [but] no government is,” she said. “... They’re less ugly than the politics of the past, and they don’t use the same contemptuous language anymore because they have to work with each other now.”
according to mcaleese, the education of religion has been drastically different amongst the current generation and the previous one, though she wishes more of the church’s focus would be on the gospel of loving one another.
“i grew up in the church in belfast and only began to notice in my early teens that the church maybe had an attitude towards women,” she said. “There’s a subtext in the church, a historic subtext, of thinking about women in ways that are deeply unhealthy. one of the things that’s worth looking at … is the 1917 code of canon law. … women are actually referred to as objects of suspicion.”
director of the center for women’s intercultural leadership (cwil) dr. elaine meyer-lee said mcaleese’s lessons that she shared are easily transferable to what it takes to lead effectively in today’s complex and interdependent world.
“as a catholic woman who has pioneered and made a significant difference in addressing one of the more complex challenges of the contemporary world, i’d say professor mcaleese has lived our [saint mary’s] mission pretty much to a T,” meyer-lee said. “of course, one could also say she is a model of intellectual vigor, religious sensibility and social responsibility.”
Contact Kelly Konya at kkonya01@saintmarys.edu
israel and show a different side to israel, and it is very obvious that this is what the yom hashoah service is,” she said.
place of quiet and of peace, and a place where people can really gather their thoughts,” he said. “Knowing how powerful that is, we wanted to hold the event there.”
The agenda includes two readings, one by a notre dame student and the other by a saint mary’s student, a Jewish mourning prayer led by a notre dame professor and brief talk by a local holocaust survivor.
spoolstra said the Federation purposely chose to include students and staff in the event’s organization to make the event as student-, faculty- and staff-centered as possible.
“obviously, the Jewish federation is hosting, but we did not want just us running the show, but wanted students to get involved because it is a day not just for Jews and the Jewish Federation, but a day for everyone,” he said.
raz revah, an israeli emissary who has worked with the Jewish Federation since september, also helped organize the service as part of her mission to educate the american public about modernday israel.
“part of my job is to talk about
revah said the celebration of yom hashoah at the grotto shares a tradition principal to the history of israel with the south bend community.
“in israel, there are services and ceremonies throughout the day, and there is a siren that sounds throughout israel and everyone stands silent for one minute during the siren,” revah said. “students at school, and even people in the roads and highways — everybody stops and will get out of cars to stand while the siren is sounding.”
spoolstra said he hopes the service at the grotto also serves as a reminder that genocides still happen in the modern world.
“after world war ii, there were the instances in cambodia, rwanda, darfur and other countries, and what isis is doing in iraq could be considered genocide,” he said. “it is a day to reflect on not only what happened during the holocaust but also a day to reflect on what happens when good people sit by and let evil persist.”
Contact Jennifer Flanagan at jflanag2@nd.edu
The happiness dilemma
dead(lines)
i have 56 minutes left to write and submit this article.
i n hindsight, i probably should have written this a lot earlier. v iewpoint is nothing at all like writing for n ews, where we are told to limit our use of adjectives. i love the little box i ’m put in when i write news articles; i know the approximate word count i should aim for, i love knowing the topic at hand before i write it and i know i should attribute every piece of information to a source.
i miss that little box right now. a s the minutes continue to slip by, i become increasingly more aware of my deadline, which has led me to the conclusion that a simplified description of college is just a constant bombardment of deadlines.
w hen i hear 6 p.m. or 8 a.m., my pulse automatically increases as i try to remember if i have an article due and if i completed my online s panish homework. 11:59 p.m. on a Thursday night suddenly isn’t just some generic time but rather the last window of opportunity to submit my macroeconomics homework.
i hate running, but this sure feels a lot like it. e xcept, you know, i am not receiving any physical benefit and am probably doing the exact opposite as the pressure of deadlines convinces me to reach for my bag of h ot c heetos. s o that’s good. w ith only a little over three weeks of the school year remaining, i am left wondering if somehow i missed a month or two. Just like i do with my random cravings for c herry g arcia ice cream at 2 in the morning, i place the blame on deadlines.
Time seems to move so much faster when you’re scared of it. This school year has consisted of nervous anticipation of the next deadline and attempting to outrace it. w hether that race results in victory or defeat, one has only a short time to recover before the next sprint. d on’t get me wrong — i am by no means condemning deadlines. i f one manages her time correctly, they can even serve as a form of motivation. h owever, living exclusively by deadlines and running full force with the mentality that it will all be over soon can leave one finally looking up at the end of her race wondering what she even did to get there.
i have two minutes left to submit this piece. i think i ’ll put these Thin m ints away now.
Contact Selena Ponio at sponio@nd.edu
The views expressed in the Inside Column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Erin Thomassen The e xamined l ife
The seagulls in “Finding n emo” cry, “ m ine. m ine. m ine.” They say this every time i watch the movie. i t is a curious phenomenon.
g ollum from l ord of the r ings has been known to call some ring “my precious.” n ow, i have only seen the first 10 minutes of lo T r , so my character analysis of g ollum may be faulty. i will say it anyways, because i am not graded on this column. ( w ith good reason. Full sentences. a re a struggle.)
i think g ollum was corrupted because he wants to keep the power of the ring to himself. h e would be happier and less hunched-over if he did not spend his whole life obsessing about keeping the ring safe. h e might venture out of the cave and see some sunlight. h e could certainly use the color, or at least a color other than green.
i don’t like to think that i am like the seagulls from “Finding n emo” unless it means i can fly. i don’t like to think i ’m like creepy Tolkien characters unless it means i can speak e lvish. There are times when i am like both of them, though, and i can neither fly nor speak e lvish.
i am often tempted to live for myself. c orrection: i am always tempted to ‘live for myself.’ s ometimes (many times) i give in to that temptation.
s urprising fact: when i ‘live for myself,’ when i spend all my time worrying about how to make e rin happy, i am not happy at all. i wonder why this happens. o h, i know why: i cannot be happy when i am worrying about me.
w hen i stop worrying about how to make myself happy, when i decide to be content with whatever comes my way, i am happier. w hen i focus on serving the needs of the external world rather than obsessing over
my perceived internal needs, i realize how little i need what i thought i needed.
i nstead of thinking about what i want, i realize how much i have. i am breathing. c heck. i am not starving. c heck. i am wearing clothes. c heck. These clothes are not tattered and torn. c heck plus. i f they are, it is because i am trying to look cool by wearing tattered denim. c heck minus.
p eople nowadays are accused of making themselves into g od and worshiping themselves. m odern society is a bit of an anomaly in the fact that most people do not adhere to a religion. s ome sociologists claim that people worship themselves instead. They obsess over how to make their lives the best possible lives instead of wondering if g od made the best of all possible worlds. They work themselves up over whether it would be better for them to go to medical school or law school (answer: probably neither). They ask themselves, and sometimes g oogle, if they should marry when they graduate college or wait until they are older and wiser. b ut when they are older, they are not actually wiser. i nstead of spending their time reflecting on what it means to truly live and pursuing meaningful lives, they worried about how to get ahead and how to create for themselves the best possible life. b ut this did not help them be happy.
you might be a naturally good and selfless person. you may not be like those seagulls and g ollum at all. o r you might struggle like i do. i n that case, i ’ll share my mantra with you: the first step towards personal happiness is caring first about other people’s happiness more than your own.
Erin Thomassen is a sophomore studying mechanical engineering. Send her comments or questions about her sanity at ethomass@nd.edu
The views expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Selena Ponio news writer
ediTorial CarToon
leTTers To THe ediTor
‘The Hunting Ground’
graduating from notre dame with a degree in film, television and theatre in 2000, i didn’t believe i would really have a chance to make it in the film industry. That was for ‘other’ people. That was for people who watched movies their whole lives, people who moved to hollywood and knew famous people. a nother notre dame graduate had scored a job working on “The s opranos.” he gave me a call — i would have taken any job, let alone one getting coffee for James g andolfini and e die Falco. working on set gave me the determination and confidence to turn it into a real career. a s i worked my way up in the camera department, i can’t even tell you the things i saw. non-disclosure agreements will do that. b een on every job from snl to o scar winning movies. worked with Tom c ruise, nicole Kidman, david b owie, g osling, d enzel, m iley, JT and b. The shorter the name, the greater the power. you’ve got it made when you only need a single letter. i can tell you that it can be hard to stay true to your values in this business. you have to turn down jobs — commercials for fracking, low-budget horror movies, gangster rap videos and even infomercials, shudder.
s o when i showed up for work on “The hunting ground” i never imagined how much my values would come into question. The only thing i knew — it was a documentary fighting for social justice for rape survivors in college. o ne in four women are sexually assaulted at college every year, which amounts to hundreds of thousands every year. a n
absurdly low number of these women ever see justice, and their lives are forever altered, haunted by these crimes.
a s i set up the lights and the camera for an interview with Jeff b enedict, a reporter for sports i llustrated, i didn’t know what to expect. w hen he described the awful travesty of Jameis w inston of Florida state and the horrible rape he allegedly committed, it fit in well with my worldview. i was righteously indignant to hear about the crimes covered up by another Florida Football Factory. i came of age during the “c atholics vs. c onvicts” era. a botched investigation by the Florida police, a d istrict a ttorney who never pressed charges and corruption at the highest levels, not a surprise.
a s story after story about assault and rape at university after university unfolded i grew more uncomfortable and angry. how could these things be happening? a t the university of north c arolina? dartmouth? harvard?
w hen the conversation turned to notre dame a chill went up my spine. r ape. a ssault. suicide.
a t notre dame?
i didn’t know the story of l izzy s eeberg. d idn’t know about another reported rape by a football player. d idn’t know about the delayed investigations in s outh b end, the weeks that went by while players walked onto the hallowed field that rockne built, accused of these heinous crimes but allowed to play, unassailed and unquestioned. weeks went by before
they were even asked about the incidents by the police.
i went home feeling conflicted. was this really the school i went to? i decided that i had to do what i could to get this film screened at notre dame. To start a dialogue on campus, to get students talking about their experiences and make sure this couldn’t happen again, especially at a place that i love. a place that i don’t want to see corrupted.
we all know the power of documentaries now. a sk s ea world how much “blackfish” cut into their bottom line. a sk robert d urst about “The Jinx.”
i hope that “The hunting ground” will sound the alarm for notre dame, and that the university can get in front of this issue and show the leadership that is so desperately needed.
i f the recent scandals in the c atholic c hurch have taught us anything, i hope they’ve taught us that you can’t run from the truth. Transparency and accountability are more important now than ever before. i hope notre dame can correct this course for the future. we desperately need national leadership on this issue, and o ur l ady is just the place to start. For all ladies. “The hunting ground” will screen on campus a pril 17 at 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. in the browning c inema at the d eb artolo performing a rts c enter.
Daniel Feighery class of 2000 april 14
people are more than their actions
“ i hate you.” The worst thing i have ever done is say these words to my mom. i was 12, impatient and unsure of the power of my voice. s o i tested my words on her. i abused her with them. i hurt her.
i t’s taken eight years, hard conversations and long reflections for me to realize that i couldn’t possibly comprehend the strength of my mother. i will never know the courage that it took for her to step on that plane to a new country that she had no connection to except through dreams. i will never know the difficulties she faced in trying to survive a land that treated her like an alien rather than a person. i will never understand how i have hurt her in my articulations, my absences and my being her daughter.
a s a part of a c enter for s ocial c oncerns course, i had the chance to speak to Fr. Tom m c n ally, a retired priest who ministers to those on death row every Thursday. h e talks about the injustice of how so many in the prison are obviously mentally ill and talks warmly of each of the inmates. h e himself is a warm, gentle man, and you find yourself nodding as he talks about the inherent worth of each life. h owever, when he begins to recount the murders committed, you feel your blood curdle. w hen you hear how
someone has murdered every single member of his family, has slain his one-and-a-half year old, you stop nodding.
a one-and-a-half year old. 1 and a half years old. n ot even a child, but an infant. a re you really still human if you can murder your whole entire family, stopping only when the blood of a baby stains your hands? you may wash your hands clean, and you may say the moment has passed, but i am not sure if the worth of your life will ever again be worth anything. These phrases of inherent dignity and the worth of a life are such intangible, untouchable and maybe even irrelevant concepts when you first hear that a one-and-a-half year old is slain. yet, these concepts are at the heart of s r. h elen p rejean’s story.
s r. h elen, on whom “ d ead m an w alking” is based, is a nun and national advocate against the death penalty. i n her recent visit to s outh b end, she shared her guilt in ministering to those on death row. s he recounted discovering the files of two friends on death row, recounted the ugliness of their crimes consuming her. s he spoke of the father of a victim, the real hero of any story she can weave about the death penalty, who reached out to her and to the mother
of the murderer in question. Forgiveness is not an easy choice, but the enduring strength of the soul. h owever, returning to her subjects, s ister h elen emphasized that those on death row are not just ugly criminals that need forgiving. They are people, and “people are more than the worst thing they have ever done in their lives.”
i think about the worst thing i have ever done, and of course it is not comparable to the crimes committed by those on death row. yet, how could any action ever describe or define an individual? i am more than the proclamation of hate to my mother, more than the written love letters to trees, more than any ‘good’ or ‘bad’ action can depict. you are more than the worst thing you have ever done. you are also so much more than the best thing you have ever done. you are. d oesn’t that extend to every single person — even those on death row?
i f you are interested in learning more about the death penalty, please contact the c enter of s ocial c oncerns or the c atholic w orker in s outh b end.
Zhong junior a pril 14
Sherry
By DANIEL BARABASI and ADAM RAMOS s cene writers
living on one campus with over 8,000 undergraduate students, it’s almost inevitable to hear about exciting local events on a daily basis, whether it be talks, club meetings or parties. perhaps the only occurrence more common is missing said events. Fortunately, two new homegrown apps are beginning to change how students approach events on campus and will hopefully bring an end to the stress involved in planning out one’s day. both apps, swoopin and nomo, present users with a visual representation of local happenings, and they have great potential for attracting a diverse user base. here's an analysis of their pluses and minuses so you can decide for yourself their effectiveness.
network
swoopin has amassed around 400 downloads from 23 different schools, between both ios and a ndroid markets. nevertheless, as they are based out of notre dame, the south bend area has been the main focus of downloads and events. swoopin has been involved in sponsoring events on campus such as carroll and badin hall’s lakeside festival and last weekend’s dance-a-Thon. come finals week, swoopin will also be delivering care packages to those who post their study spots on the app. For a social aspect, swoopin users can comment on events, thereby connecting their registered names with their interests and concerns about the events.
nomo has seen success with downloads, collecting around 720 in just one week after launching on april 8. on the date of their launch party, nomo was able to check in 250 people using their app to display their location. nomo has also seen exposure through the popular blogging platform her campus. For their social component, nomo has integrated into their app the ability to invite contacts to events and provide a list of all published locations of registered contacts.
with an impressive amount of downloads and the integration of contacts, nomo has the leg up in networking. Though swoopin has been very active on campus, without the ability of connecting with friends it is very hard to properly organize events. however, because swoopin offers both a ndroid and ios markets, it's a very close call.
winner: nomo
event Creation
swoopin’s event creation is a three-step process. First, you click and hold on the screen to select the location of your event. This opens up a menu asking for further information including the title, time and description. Two other tags are available for a created event: “category” adds a colored label that indicates whether you’re hosting a sports, social or school-based event, and “location hint” allows for specificity for the map location, including room or apartment number.
nomo has a longer but more streamlined process. users click a plus sign to initiate event creation, which brings up a screen where one must search for locations based on address or description, such as dorm name. This location needs to be approved, to make sure it is the place you meant, and then an “alternate name” can be entered, paralleling the location hint in swoopin. Finally, you invite friends and create the event. in theory, nomo’s process should be a lot more straightforward and accessible. however, swoopin offers a much simpler location selection system, and then it displays all of the five fields necessary to create an event. a lso, nomo requires a minimum of five friends to start an event, which makes sense marketing-wise, but starting an event open to the whole school should not need a critical mass to be put up. swoopin still needs to develop friend integration, but nomo’s friend function is more of a hassle at this point.
winner: swoopin
event interface
on the surface, swoopin displays all events in the area, color coded by the category tag mentioned earlier and the number events at each location. clicking on an event brings up a short overview, including title, duration, location, host and time of creation. pulling up this tab uncovers further info, allowing the user to rsvp, or “watch,” and access a comment section on the event. at the very bottom of the screen, a time slide function allows users to curtail events based on timing.
upon opening the nomo app, users are greeted with a map peppered with purple flags on the top half of the screen. below, a list of events appears, clearly labeled with the amount of both friends and total attendees. one may also tap the friends tab in order to see which friends have published location, and where. Tapping a
flags bring the user to a page displaying total attendees and which specific friends are currently attending.
nomo shines in its ability to quickly display number of attendees, but for a busy college student, the app does not display enough information to be effective. Furthermore, once one has created an event for nomo, the event can’t be deleted and users can only rsvp to one event a time. lastly, nomo does not even have an event time capability, which makes the writers question how it is an event app in the first place. swoopin’s ability to clearly display all relevant information, including the time of the event, gives it the clear advantage in user interface. winner: swoopin
Final Thoughts
The topics nomo focuses on have the upper hand in what an event app should look like. w hen i open my event app, i want to see what’s going on around me, where people will be and what my friends are doing. as of yet, these ideas have only been poorly integrated into nomo. The overall interface of nomo does not offer enough information about the details of available events — not even the time at which they are taking place. nomo is an app marketed at those living in the now; however, with a hectic college schedules, students want to be able to know what events are happening later. This requires an rsvp function that does not only apply for the next 24 hours, but can remind users of events happening days or weeks ahead.
overall Winner
with a clear, easy to understand interface, swoopin shines in its allowance to schedule ahead and have a distinct idea of what’s to come. even better, the tap and create function allows for a more informal yet practical feel. you may wish to simply get a few friends together to play pickup football in the field behind your dorm: it tremendously easier with swoopin. nevertheless, it still contains limitations. The friend function, pioneered by nomo, is necessary for a social app. we would also like to see an option to create “private” events, for planning of smaller get togethers where maybe the entire campus is not invited.
Contact Daniel Barabasi at dbaraba1@nd.edu and Adam Ramos at aramos6@nd.edu
By KEELY BERGIN
s cene writer
warning: This review contains spoilers for the “game of Thrones” season five premiere.
one day prior to the highly anticipated season five premiere of hbo’s “game of Thrones,” the first five episodes were leaked online, which amounts to half of the season itself. in an unusual exercise of self-control, this writer has refrained from watching any episode beyond the premiere.
The premiere opens with an incredible but necessary two-minute-and 13-second long recap, covering the complex storylines of each key figure from the previous season, which would probably take the whole of this article to delineate. instead, the focus will be on the themes prevalent in the episode.
The first half of the episode focuses thematically on the isolation of several characters. darker lighting consistently accentuates the idea of isolation, whether it is cersei and Jamie lannister standing around the body of their father, the perspective of Tyrion lannister within a crate as he arrives in pentos, the grey atmosphere of life at the wall, petyr baelish and sansa stark (currently known as elaine) entering self-imposed isolation or the dim lighting surrounding daenerys Targaryen as she is depicted within the pyramid in meereen.
Falling outs abound, building up the sense of tension within each of the narratives. cersei and Jamie are on the outs because of his “stupidity,” from cersei’s persepective. Tyrion and varys argue about their current state and the point of saving westeros. Jon snow and stannis are in
conflict regarding mance raider bending the knee. The confrontation is heightened by the fact that they are physically isolated from the men of the night’s watch and the Free people, standing on top of The wall. daenerys also faces opposition to her humanitarian move of shutting down “human cock-fighting.” The tension seems to rise to the point where the narratives can no longer be quite so self-contained, and so in the second half of the episode, some of the narratives begin to bleed together.
after four seasons of following the various story lines in “game of Thrones,” there are hints that these separate webs of stories within westeros and those outside will finally collide. at Tywin’s funeral, the issue of intruding religions enters the capital. at The wall, the storylines of the Free people and the Knight’s watch begin to intertwine. in pentos, Tyrion agrees to go with varys in an attempt to assist daenerys Targaryen. with these story lines beginning to interact, there is a sense that the expansive nature of the series will become more closely tied together throughout this season.
cersei’s disdain for her father and the entire ceremony cuts ser loras’s platitudes like a knife. For all her flaws, cersei certainly does not put up with disingenuous people. generally, she takes a glass of wine to slack her thirst as she dismisses her haters. yet, she is not able to so easily dismiss lancel, who appears as a “religious fanatic” of the light of the seven.
meanwhile, melisandre, also known as the red woman, demonstrates religious tension at The wall. she essentially draws a line in the sand, ordering the Free people to follow stannis baratheon. The example of mance raider is used as the example of what happens to dissenters. The effect is
negated when Jon snow shoots an arrow through mance’s heart before mance has the chance to scream. here, Jon snow is finally seen taking action for himself, moving morally and literally onto the high ground. in this scene, there is a great deal of interacting storylines: the war for the iron Throne, represented by stannis’s presence, the threat from beyond The wall, represented by the Free people’s presence and the issue of defending The wall, represented by the location.
perhaps the most compelling pair interacting story lines does not technically take place in this episode, but the anticipation of the interaction is enough. The idea of Tyrion and daenerys meeting is certainly the climax of the episode. Finally, the mother of dragons may be able to take back westeros. she is “someone stronger than Tommen, but gentler than stannis. a monarch that can intimidate the high lords but inspire the people. a ruler loved by millions with a powerful army and the right family name.” overall, the episode is incredibly engaging, and as per usual, it leaves the viewer wanting more and wondering how that could possibly have been an entire hour. The interconnecting story lines create a new perspective of the world in “game of Thrones,” and they are a complete a game-changer in terms of how the series has been focused thus far — particularly with the eventual interaction between Tyrion and daenerys’ story lines. w hile this episode won’t leave you anywhere near as emotionally drained as “The red wedding,” it certainly leaves you wanting more and perhaps thinking about finding those leaked episodes somewhere.
Contact Keely Bergin at kbergin1@nd.edu
By KELLY McGARRY
here’s to the only band i’ve know to have passed out pizza in the middle of a show. The dr. dog that performed in chicago this weekend is not your neighborhood veterinary clinic, but rather a neo-psychedelic rock band with indie roots based in pennsylvania. The second of two shows this weekend, dr. dog’s sunday performance was moved just days before the show from its original location at The house of blues to lincoln hall, located in the stylish lincoln park area on the north side of chicago — a considerably smaller venue with a maximum capacity of about 500 people.
i had seen this quintessential festival band perform at bonnaroo to a huge field of people with divided attention, but this small concert hall provided an experience that was totally unique with an audience that came specifically to see dr. dog. This enthusiastic crowd had not wandered in by a chance of fate; they were seeing this show with intention.
a n opening performance by secret colours, an
innovative local band with a vibey sound, captured the early-arriving audience. during the time you might expect people to be hanging around the bar or checking out merch, the area in front of the stage was as crowded as if it were the headliner.
in such an intimate setting, the fact that dr. dog maintained an air of mystery is quite a feat. breaks between songs were filled with an anticipating drumbeat rather than banter, not to mention the dark sunglasses worn by half of the band members. nevertheless, the relatively bright lighting allowed conversation between the band and crowd members, but in a way that was to the point. For three of their songs, they choose a particular person from the audience and played whatever song that person requested, even taking one request from the balcony.
The band as a whole did a great job of showcasing the multiple talents of each band member. scott mcmicken and Toby leaman shared the responsibility of lead vocals, each leading a distinct sound. mcmicken led the entrancing, psychedelic songs while leaman led those that were heartfelt and straightforward. members also switched between bass, guitar and keyboard, which
could be distracting if you were trying to keep track of them individually, but otherwise they pulled it off seamlessly.
The small crowd of close friends of the band sang along to their top hits such as “lonesome” and the upbeat cover “heart it races.” The audience engaged in a particularly heartfelt rendition of “Too weak to ramble.” nevertheless, the true highlights of the show were found in lesser-known psychedelic numbers and hypnotic jam sessions. as if the encore itself weren’t enough of a surprise, band members emerged from backstage each with a stack of pizzas to re-energize the crowd for four final songs.
a strong setlist included songs from eight different albums (i was able to snag a hand-written version after the show). The performance ended with the catchy hit “my Friend,” followed by the sincere ballad “county line.”
The show left nothing to be desired, except that i wasn’t called on with my song request of “The pretender.” hopefully i’ll get a chance next time.
Contact Kelly McGarry at kmcgarry@nd.edu
Spieth represents new face of golf
Brian Plamondon sports writer
in may, the class of 2015 will receive their diplomas amidst a memorable graduation weekend filled with family and friends.
Jordan spieth could have had that same experience if he had stayed a full four years at the university of Texas. instead, he turned pro early. a nd now, just a month before he would have graduated, he’s won his first major title at the masters. not bad.
spieth didn’t only win the masters, he manhandled the entire field. he became the tournament’s first wire-towire champion in 39 years. on sunday, when every golf fan would have understood if he had cracked under the pressure, he kept his head down and never gave anyone a chance. every time a challenger would close the gap, spieth would roll in a birdie putt and say, “not so fast.”
Two months ago i wrote a piece about how rory mcilroy is the face and future of golf while Tiger woods needs to be forgotten — and i stand by that. but rory needs to watch out, because Jordan spieth is the real deal.
his performance at augusta national was nothing short of jaw dropping. he tied Tiger’s masters scoring record and became the second youngest winner ever of the tournament. he set a masters record for most birdies. rory even said himself after the round that his score of -12 (six behind spieth’s) would win most years. sure, spieth robbed us of some sunday drama, but wasn’t it pretty cool to see someone dominate the field like that?
a nd the thing about spieth is he does it the right way. he’s polite and respectful but not shy about where he thinks his talent and skill can take him. he carries himself around the golf course like someone 10 years his senior yet still shows that raw emotion that can energize a fan base. he embodies a true champion, someone everyone can get
behind. he lets his golf do the talking.
The best part about spieth, though, is how driven he is. a lthough he already has a fantastic skill set, spieth isn’t the most talented golfer on the course most weeks. he does, however, want it more than others. There are a lot of golfers that can only get amped up for the major tournaments, and i get it — playing a schedule of 25 to 30 tournaments a year, you can really get burned out. For spieth, it doesn’t matter if it’s the masters or the valspar championship, he gives 110 percent week in and week out. how else can you explain his last four tournaments? he’s finished first, second, tied for second and first. i can’t wait to see him when his game matures and he feels more comfortable with his shot-making capabilities on courses that will become familiar. he’s only going to get better.
w hether he likes it or not, spieth’s going to become the face of a merican golf as Tiger vanishes further and further into oblivion.
he has officially arrived, and now he’ll lead a host of a merican youngsters that need to make golf fresh again in the eyes of the a merican public and shepherd in the next generation. help will come from the likes of patrick reed, brooks Koepka and r ickie Fowler, but it starts with spieth. making a merica forget about Tiger yet still care about golf is a daunting task, but a few more performances like this past week from spieth should be a wake-up call. even with a runaway victory, the masters saw television ratings jump 26 percent from last year. people want to see this kid duke it out with rory over the next decade and a half. if this past week was any indication, the future of golf is bright.
Contact Brian Plamondon at bplamond@nd.edu
The views expressed in this Sports Authority are those of the author and not necessarily those of The Observer.
Saint Mary’s stands in
By MICHAEL IVEY sports writer
with a final score of 365, saint mary’s finished fourth out of four in the first round of miaa qualifying tournament hosted by olivet, which is a threeround tourney that decides which member of the conference will receive an automatic bid into the ncaa tournament.
sophomore courtney carlson had the best score out of all belles golfers on the day, shooting an 81 to take sixth place in the individual standings. Freshman Kaitlyn cartone shot a 91 to take 17th place individually. Junior Katie Zielinski shot a 94 to finish in a tie for 18th place individually. Freshman Kelsey conkright shot a 99 to finish in a tie for 21st place with fellow freshman belle lydia lorenc.
“i was very happy with the way that courtney carlson played today,” belles head coach Kim moore said. “she will be the first one to say that her ball striking wasn’t exactly the best today, but she did a great job of scrambling. her 81 was our team’s best score and was her best round of the spring, so that was a positive from today’s round.
“one thing my team did was they hung in there and did a great job finishing. Two players, Kaitlyn cartone and Katie Zielinski, both started the front nine with high scores, but played better on the back nine. There were too many big numbers today and that is what hurt the team, but they did a great job of forgetting a bad hole and moving on. no one strung consecutive bad holes together.”
olivet finished in first place with a score of 323 score, hope finished in second place with a score of 325, Trine finished in third place with a score of 343. hope sophomore britni gielow was the best-performing individual of the day, shooting 76 to finish no. 1 overall.
moore said there are several areas in which saint mary’s needs to improve in the next rounds.
“our team needs to work on eliminating the big numbers, learning to play smart and work on some course management,” moore said. “we work on our short game at every practice, but that is something that is always in need of work and we will continue to spend time in that area.
“a lso, some of the players need to work on more consistent ball striking. not always knowing where your ball will go can be hard on your confidence, which then starts to hurt your mental game. we need to take some time on the range this week and get some of that confidence back.
“we need to keep believing in ourselves and not settling or expecting those bad holes to come. This team is much better than some of the scores we have been shooting lately and it will be my job this week to help get them to transition their efforts and progress during practice onto the course.”
The belles will have a chance to regain some ground monday as they compete in the second round of the miaa conference golf course at ravines golf club in saugatuck, michigan. The third round of the miaa Tournament will take place april 25, and it will be then when the belles find out if they will represent the conference in the ncaa tournament or not.
Contact Michael Ivey at mivey@hcc-nd.edu
mariners miss out on win despite two homers
Press
Associated
los angeles — a lex guerrero hit a bases-loaded single with two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning, and the los a ngeles dodgers overcame a four-run deficit for a 6-5 victory over the seattle mariners on monday night.
nelson cruz hit two of the mariners’ four home runs off brandon mccarthy. yasiel puig homered and howie Kendrick had a tying rbi single in the fifth for los a ngeles.
dominic leone (0-1), working his third inning of relief, gave up double to a ndre ethier leading off the 10th before retiring puig on a comebacker. a fter adrian gonzalez was walked intentionally and howie Kendrick also walked to load the bases, Tyler olsons relieved.
yimi garcia (1-0) pitched a perfect inning to get his first major league victory.
dustin ackley and Kyle seager also connected off mccarthy, who gave up five runs and six hits in seven innings. he struck out 10 without walking a batter.
The only other time mccarthy gave up four homers in a game was in his second major league start on may 27, 2005, with the chicago w hite sox at the Texas rangers. according to baseballreference.com, mccarthy was the 11th pitcher since 1914 with to give up as many as four homers and strike out at least 10 batters — and the first since milwaukee’s mike Fiers on sept. 30, 2012 against houston. seattle lefty James paxton gave up five runs and six hits over 6 1-3 innings and struck out six.
he struck out carl crawford for the second out, but guerrero lined a 2-2 pitch to right-center to end seattle’s third straight extra-inning game.
The dodgers didn’t get their first hit until puig’s leadoff single in the fourth triggered a three-run rally that sliced seattle’s lead to 4-3. guerrero hit a bases-loaded sacrifice fly and fellow rookie Joc pederson followed with a two-run single, after scott van slyke alertly tagged up at first and made it to second on guerrero’s fly with no one covering the bag. ackley got one of the runs back in the fifth with a two-out homer, which turned out to be the mariners’ final hit. cruz, whose nine interleague homers last season led the majors, staked paxton to a 2-0 lead before he threw his first pitch. it was the 200th career homer for cruz, who barely cleared the fence in right-center with one out in the fourth. The next batter was seager, whose homer increased seattle’s lead to 4-0. seventeen of seattle’s first 25 runs this season have come on home runs.
MlB | dodgers 6, mariners 5
Miller shines on court for Notre Dame
By BEN PADANILAM sports writer
Few athletes are able to join a program as a freshman and have an instant impact on the court. however, freshman allison miller has been a significant part of the success the irish have had this year. during her high school career at rivers academy in alpharetta, georgia, miller was a four-time usTa national open champion. ranked as a five-star recruit coming out of high school last year, she
drew interest from several schools. in the end, however, miller said choosing notre dame was an easy decision and her reasons still hold true to her experience as a member of the team today.
“The girls on the team here are really special,” miller said. “everyone just tries to get along. They’re really, really good girls, and there’s just no extra drama that i have to deal with, which is perfect. i also have a lot of respect for [irish head coach Jay louderback], and the academics around here are unbelievable, too.”
upon joining the team, miller said she was able to make the transition from high school to college tennis fairly smoothly. she said her ability gave her the confidence to be able to step up immediately.
“i’d say the easiest part about the transition was that i already had enough skill to play,” miller said. “i didn’t feel like the level was over my head when i got here, which was nice. i could just come in and compete right away.”
even still, miller said the transition has not been without its hurdles. one aspect of college tennis that challenged her was having others determine her training schedule, miller said.
“The toughest part has been adjusting to the different routine,” miller said. “i had a lot of autonomy in high school over my own training, so it’s been different for me to be a part of a large group. but i try to practice on my own, too, when i can.”
since the start of the season, miller has made an instant impact on the court. playing mostly at no. 5 singles, she has compiled a record of 14-6 for the irish, including a record of 9-3 in conference play. despite her success, miller said she has just been happy to have the opportunity to play this year.
“playing so many matches has been great,” miller said. “i love playing, and so i’m really thankful i’ve been healthy and been in all the matches.”
Freshman Allison Miller reaches for a backhand in a 6-1
to Stanford on Feb. 6 at Eck Tennis Pavilion.
in addition to playing singles, miller has also participated in doubles play with junior Julie vrabel. she and vrabel have compiled a record of 10-7 this season at no. 2 doubles. miller said she has really enjoyed playing with vrabel and she believes the two of them are a good fit as partners.
“Julie and i are a great combination,” miller said. “i’m really lucky to get to play with her. we get along really well on the court. she’s more serious, and i’m more silly, so i think [louderback] was really smart to have her keep me in check out there. also, she has a fantastic backhand, and i prefer my forehand, so our games complement each other well too.”
now, as the end of the regular season approaches, miller and the rest of the irish are preparing for the postseason. miller said she
sMC Tennis
believes the team is poised for a strong playoff run.
“i think we can have a great postseason this year,” miller said. “last year, the team made it to the round of 16 at the ncaa championships and it would be great to see that happen again.”
Furthermore, miller said that she is very excited for the future of the team and her next three years as a member of it.
“next year looks really bright for us,” miller said. “we are going to return all of our starters and we will also have [freshman] brooke broda back, who’s a real winner. she’s been hurt this year. our team really loves tennis, and we have the passion to make some great things happen.”
Contact Ben Padanilam at bpadanil@nd.edu
belles beat adrian
Observer Staff Report
saint mary’s took the court Tuesday night in a conference matchup against adrian, earning its 10th win of the season by a score of 8-1.
The belles (10-8, 4-2 miaa) dropped just one singles match to the bulldogs (9-7, 2-3 miaa) en route to the victory. in just over two hours, the belles were able to quickly defeat the bulldogs for their fourth conference win.
doubles play continued to be a point of strength for the belles, as all three pairs won their matches.
senior captain Kayle sexton and sophomore sam setterblad earned the first victory of the day at no. 1 doubles by a score of 8-2. Fellow senior captain shannon elliott and junior andrea Fetters won their no. 2 doubles match, 8-3. Finishing the day for the belles at no. 3 doubles were junior margaret Faller and freshman maddie minaudo, who outlasted bulldogs junior Justine hanson and sophomore victoria watson by a score of 8-3.
The belles showed strength in singles against adrian after senior captain Jackie Kjolhede recorded the lone singles victory against calvin on saturday. Fetters, sexton, elliott and Faller joined Kjolhede in the singles win column
in Tuesday’s match, adding to their victories in doubles. Fetters, at no. 1 singles, earned an easy 6-1, 6-1 victory, followed by sexton’s 6-0, 6-0 sweep at no. 2. Kjolhede won her no. 3 singles match 6-0, 6-3, followed by elliott’s 6-3, 6-1 victory in the no. 4 slot and Faller’s 6-1, 6-0 no. 5 singles victory. The only dropped match on the day came at no. 6 singles, in which freshman bailey oppman could not catch up to adrian freshman mcKenzie Krieg, dropping the match 6-2, 6-2.
The belles are keeping their postseason hopes alive as they maintained their no. 4 position in the miaa only the top four teams at the end of the regular season advance to postseason play.
saint mary’s will return to action saturday against struggling albion (3-6, 1-3 miaa). albion will take on adrian on Friday before facing off against the belles on saturday. The britons are currently place second-to-last in miaa standings, with their only conference victory coming against last-place olivet in a close 5-4 decision. The belles handled the comets earlier in the season, 8-1.
saint mary’s will travel to albion, michigan, this saturday to take on the britons in one of i final conference matchups of the season. matches are set to begin at 1 p.m
MICHAEL YU | The Observer
loss
monaghan works to carry i rish to playoffs
By DOMINIC BUSH sports writer
at 6-foot, 142 lbs., junior Quentin monaghan may not be the most recognizable athletic force as he walks through north Quad on the way back to his dorm after classes. but with a 28-5 singles record and a current no. 9 national ranking, monaghan is deserving of the same kind of praise and recognition reserved for the likes of grant and connaughton.
For the chatham, new Jersey, native, it all began when he was three, he said. monaghan, whose father played tennis at Trinity university in Texas, took to the game instantly after watching his older brother play. by age 10 or so, it was apparent that Quentin, too, would play collegiate tennis. during his teenage years, monaghan consistently found himself ranked nationally for his age group. he reached no. 25 on the u s u18 list, which garnered the attention of numerous college coaches. one such coach was irish head coach ryan sachire. The former irish tennis standout knew the addition of monaghan to the team would go a long way for a program on the rise. monaghan credits sachire as one of the primary reasons he chose
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for the second run of the inning. Junior c asey a fricano drove in a pair of runs with a single, giving the i rish a six-run advantage heading into the fourth. b owling g reen plated two runs in the fourth, bringing the contest within four, but it failed to scratch across another in the final two innings i rish junior pitcher a llie r hodes earned the victory on the evening, her 13th of the season. w hile both Falcons runs came with r hodes on the mound, neither were earned, giving r hodes a final stat line of four innings pitched, three hits surrendered, five strikeouts and no walks.
l eading 6-2, the i rish added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth, with senior outfielder e milee Koerner knocking a base hit up the middle to plate a pair
notre dame.
“[i] can’t say enough about how important sach’s presence was,” monaghan said. “i can’t say enough how grateful i am to have him in my corner. he cares so much about me and this program, it will be tough to leave.”
The highest-ranked recruit of the 2016 class came to south bend with high expectations and an even greater desire to exceed those expectations. monaghan went 18-4 in singles matches that first spring and was named big east Freshman of the year.
monaghan built on his firstyear success during his sophomore campaign. he posted a 13-8 singles record and was named third-team all-acc however, it was what he did in the postseason that added him to irish tennis lore. in the ncaa tournament, sachire turned to monaghan for the decisive match in the round of 32. his 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over his ole miss counterpart sent the irish to the sweet 16 and erased the sting of losing in the ncaas the previous year.
For monaghan, this remains the highlight of his notre dame career. he called the trip to the sweet 16 “a huge stepping stone for notre dame tennis.”
a ll of this had led to the monster
of i rish base runners.
Koerner and sophomore outfielder Karley w ester led the way for the i rish at the plate, both notching two hits on the evening.
Freshman Katie b eriont earned her first save of the season, pitching three innings in relief for n otre d ame. b eriont gave up no runs or walks and yielded just a trio of hits to the Falcons.
The victory marks the fourth time the i rish have won 19 straight games, with n otre d ame squads reaching that total in 1996, 1999 and 2005.
The program’s longest winning streak remains the 2001 team’s 33 straight victories.
n otre d ame will host n orthwestern on w ednesday and then will take on acc opponent s yracuse in a three-game home series over the weekend.
The first pitch w ednesday is scheduled for 6 p.m. at m elissa c ook s tadium.
season monaghan is enjoying now. in addition to his noteworthy overall record, monaghan is 14-3 against nationally ranked players. perhaps most impressive is his current streak of 11 consecutive singles victories. he said he doesn’t like to focus on individual stats or accolades, though.
“it’s far more important to keep working hard and sticking to what has made you successful than to sit back and worry about rankings or win streaks,” monaghan said. with the acc tournament and ncaas right around the corner, monaghan will need to heed his own advice. notre dame is currently ranked no. 37, and a strong showing in the conference tourney will go a long way in seeding for the ncaa tournament, a task monaghan was confident the team could accomplish.
“i think the expectations are to win the acc tournament and make a deep run to the Final Four in the ncaa tournament,” monaghan said.
The irish have two more regular season matches before monaghan leads them into the playoffs, the first of which takes place Friday against wake Forest.
Contact Dominic Bush at dbush@nd.edu
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mom for [taking me to play in the s unday league] because, even though i hated it at the time, lacrosse has become such a huge part of my life, and that’s mostly because of her,” d oss said. “ s he also encouraged me to try out goalie and convinced me that i could be good at it, and that also was a huge turning point for me early on.”
d oss went on to become one of the best players in n ew Jersey as he took his talents over to g len r idge h igh s chool. a s a sophomore and junior, d oss attended the n ike b lue c hip c amp, which allowed him to showcase his skills in front of several d ivision i programs. i n 2011, he helped lead g len r idge to a state championship. a long with the state title, d oss earned a ll- a merica honors as a senior from u s l acrosse, earned team mvp and defensive mvp during his senior year and was rated the nation’s 10th-best goalie by i nside l acrosse. a fter receiving several offers as a senior, d oss weighed his options, knowing n otre d ame was in the lead.
“ i wanted to attend the best possible school that lacrosse gave me the opportunity to do, so n otre d ame
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at us, which i think everybody is trying to do as they look at our numbers,” a oki said. “ w e haven’t hit lefties as well as we have hit righties throughout the course of the year. i think they are trying to find lefties and scrap heaps around the country and throw them at us.”
The nonconference games are just as important to the season, a oki said, because with little hopes of catching l ouisville in the acc , n otre d ame will need all the wins it can get.
“ i think it’s important to play at a high level,” a oki said. “... The ncaa tournament, unless you win
was an easy choice,” d oss said. “The alumni network is so huge and really gives you a lot of options, no matter what you want to end up doing in life.”
h e carried over the success he had in high school over to n otre d ame with ease. i n his first season, n otre d ame made it to the national championship. For d oss, it was something he had always dreamed to be a part of.
“ m aking it to the Final Four last year is definitely going to be a memory i ’ll keep forever,” d oss said. “ i used to go to every Final Four growing up with my family so being able to run out on the field last season was pretty surreal, along with having all of my family and friends there watching.”
w hile the end of that experience failed to go his way, d oss understands that this season is a chance to return to that moment and claim the national championship. This season, d oss has faced some of the toughest competition in the country.
h is first test was against d enver early in the season when the p ioneers were ranked n o. 4. a lthough the i rish fell 11-10 in overtime, d oss took the experience as a learning moment and made the necessary adjustments to improve in the cage. From that point on,
the acc championship, to a certain extent that’s beyond our control. w e can influence it by our play on the field. w e just try to play as well as we can and worry about the things we can control and get up the next day and do it all over again.”
a gainst Toledo, n otre d ame will look to continue its roll, a oki said.
“... w hoever it happens to be, we’re not trying to compete against the opponent; we’re trying to compete to be as good as we can be,” a oki said.
The i rish will take on Toledo on w ednesday, with first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. at Frank e ck s tadium.
Contact Isaac Lorton at ilorton@nd.edu
d oss has led n otre d ame to three wins over top-10 opponents. The i rish defeated n o. 8 v irginia, 11-9, on m arch 14, n o. 6 d uke, 15-10, on a pril 4 and, in the most exciting win of the season, a 13-12 double-overtime victory over then- n o. 1 s yracuse on m arch 28. a long the way, d oss earned acc d efensive p layer of the w eek twice.
There isn’t anything special d oss does to prepare for his games, he said — just whatever keeps him focused. w hether that means listening to music throughout the day or hanging out in the locker room, d oss stays calm before warming up for a game. a nd up to this point, it’s been working out pretty well for him. w ith one game left in the regular season against n o. 2 n orth c arolina, top-ranked n otre d ame’s mission is going to be challenged in the acc and ncaa tournaments. d oss knows the i rish have a target on their backs, but it doesn’t bother him, he said. h e just has one goal in mind heading into the postseason.
“ i came here to win our first national championship,” d oss said. “a nd i want to contribute in whatever way possible to make that a reality for my teammates.”
Contact Manny De Jesus at mdejesus@nd.edu
Happy Birthday: put your dreams first and your path to success will open. it’s important not to neglect the ones you love or avoid your professional responsibilities. incorporating greater organization into your routine and including the ones you love in your plans will help you reach your destination with ease, and you’ll have time left over for personal improvements. your numbers are 4, 10, 16, 24, 26, 32, 45.
ARIES (March 21-April 19): someone who is jealous or ruthless will try to outsmart you. don’t be a follower -- it’s up to you to size up situations and find solutions. Trust your judgment and get things done. your take-charge attitude will win points.
TAURUS (April 20-May 20): you’ll receive mixed messages. don’t get involved in a debate or a physical confrontation if you aren’t prepared to finish what you start. a loss of respect will result if a personal secret is revealed. protect your reputation and your position.
GEMINI (May 21-June 20): don’t limit the possibilities because you don’t want to express your true feelings. say whatever is on your mind and offer suggestions that can help turn your ideas into a reality. believe in yourself, project your style with confidence and forge ahead.
CANCER (June 21-July 22): don’t feel the need to donate or help others when it’s your own wellness that should concern you. be smart and make a point to eliminate unhealthy habits. get informed and strive to make positive lifestyle changes.
LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): don’t get angry or flustered -- get moving. make changes to your surroundings or search for information that will contribute to your advancement. you can win favors and points if you make good use of your talents. romance will lead to good fortune.
VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): stay on top of rates, loans and changing economic issues that can affect your personal financial situation. be proactive and ferret out information that can help you make wise decisions regarding your professional direction.
LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): check out any investment that promises to help you improve personally, professionally or financially. working alongside someone you feel close to will help you bring about the changes you want to see happen. embark on a new beginning.
SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): stay in sync with your creative ideas and don’t let what others are doing sidetrack you. your imagination will not let you down. emotional matters can lead to financial loss or poor choices. don’t make a financial commitment you cannot afford.
SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): listen carefully when it comes to emotional matters. someone will offer important information that could alter a decision you have to make. concentrate on the changes you want to make at home. working alone will bring the best results.
CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): you can help your community, but don’t let anyone take advantage of you or prompt you to donate too much. put time and effort into your home and personal surroundings. don’t let a love interest cost you. be discreet.
AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): if you take part in industry events or networking with people you have worked with in the past, an opportunity will present itself. romance is in the stars, and letting someone special know how you feel will enhance your personal life.
PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): don’t be fooled by others. Take care of matters personally and you won’t have regrets later on. a slower pace will give you a chance to consider other options. Keep your personal and professional lives separate. expect emotional interference.
Birthday Baby: you are objective, compassionate and understanding. you have integrity and depth. don’t settle for anything less than your best today, be bold and you will succeed.
JuMBle | david hoyT and JeFF KnureK
sudoku | The mepham group
HiGHly punlikely | chrisTopher brucKer
doMe nuTs | alexandria wellman
l aCrosse
Doss coming into his own as goalie for Irish
By MANNY DE JESUS sports writer
i n g len r idge, n ew Jersey, about 40 minutes away from m anhattan, s hane d oss grew up figuring out whether lacrosse was, in the long run, worth the effort and time he had spent on it. There’s no doubt in d oss’s mind now that being dragged to his s unday league games by his mom as a seven-year-old boy was worth his time.
d oss, a sophomore, is the starting goalie for the i rish, who are 8-1 this season and 3-0 in the acc n o. 1 n otre d ame is looking to return to the ncaa c hampionship where they were a couple goals shy of winning their first title last season. c oming into this year, d oss wasn’t sure if he was going to start at goalie given competition from c onor Kelly, the senior goalie who carried the team’s defense to the title game last year, and
BaseBall
freshman o wen m olloy, the third-best goalie in his recruiting class.
l ast season, d oss played a key role in n otre d ame’s championship run despite being a backup. h e played nine games, garnering a 5-3 record and allowing an average of 8.53 goals per game. This season, d oss has played like an elite goalie. h e ranks n o. 25 in the nation in saves per game, averaging 10.11 while helping n otre d ame’s defense reach n o. 12 in the nation in goals allowed per game with 8.22. h e’s come onto the scene almost out of nowhere, giving n otre d ame another chance to legitimately contend for their first national championship.
a s a kid, however, d oss wasn’t very fond of the idea of having to play lacrosse. i n fact, he said he used to hate it.
“ i am so thankful to my
Notre Dame preps to face Toledo
By ISAAC LORTON
s enior sports writer
a fter a weekend sweep over n o. 7 Florida s tate, the message remains the same for the i rish heading into w ednesday night’s nonconference matchup against Toledo.
“ i think it’s one of those things naturally that as a coach you’re worried about that it’s going to be sort of a let-down game,” i rish head coach m ik a oki said.
“ i trust this group. w e’re going to talk to them about it. w e talked to them a little bit about it [Tuesday] and we’ll talk a little bit about it tomorrow, but i feel good that this group is going to answer the bell. They’ve done nothing but answer the bell all year long.”
n otre d ame (24-10, 9-9 acc ) is getting more attention in the acc , shooting up into a three-way tie for third, but a oki said the team needs to keep continuing with taking their season “pitch by pitch,” as they did after being swept by nown o. 5 l ouisville and now- n o. 23 v irginia.
“ i think the big message is just the same as it was on the heels of those losses against v irginia and l ouisville that
those didn’t fundamentally change anything about our team,” a oki said. “ n ow that we’ve experienced wins against p itt and Florida s tate, that doesn’t fundamentally change who and what we are. w e still have a road map to have success and we need to continue to follow that road map. Just because people are talking about us a little bit doesn’t change anything that.”
The i rish will take on a Toledo (12-23) team coming off of 3-0 loss to d ayton on Tuesday and a series win over w estern m ichigan over the weekend. The r ockets almost stole one from n otre d ame last season. The i rish needed a late two-run rally to beat Toledo 4-3 in the ninth.
“ i think they are always well-coached, [ r ockets head coach] c ory [ m ee] does a good job with those guys,” a oki said.
The i rish expect Toledo to bring out a left-handed starter, a oki said, as the i rish have hit slightly worse against lefties on the season, going 10-5 against them compared to 14-5 against righties.
“They’re throwing a lefty
nd tops bowling green
Observer Staff Report
n o. 25 n otre d ame topped b owling g reen, 8-2, Tuesday evening at m elissa c ook s tadium, extending its win streak to 19, the program’s longest string of success since the 2005 season.
The i rish (33-11, 13-5 acc ) outhit b owling g reen (13-20, 4-6 mac ) 9-6 and jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the bottom half of the first.
i rish junior a ll- a merican infielder m icaela a rizmendi drove in the first run for the i rish with an rbi fielder’s choice, which was followed up by an rbi sacrifice fly from senior catcher c assidy w hidden.
The i rish rallied for four runs in the bottom of the third, with freshman infielder m organ r eed driving in the first run of the inning on an rbi base hit.
i n the next at-bat, a rizmendi scored from third on a wild pitch, accounting for the second run of
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Men’s
EMMET FARNAN | The Observer
Sophomore goalkeeper Shane Doss celebrates during a scrimmage against Air Force on Jan. 31 at Loftus Sports Center. Doss leads the team with 91 saves this season and has a 7-1 record.
MARY McGRAW | The Observer
Senior right-hander Scott Kerrigan throws a pitch in a 4-2 loss to Virginia on March 28 at Frank Eck Stadium.
